1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a preform for use in blow molding a plastic container, and more particularly to a lightweight preform having a plurality of corrugated structures in the finish.
2. Description of Related Art
Preform thickness is determined by the material properties of the plastic from which the preform is made and the intended use of the preform. Specifically, if a preform is to be molded into a container suitable to hot-fill or pasteurization processes, the preform must be thick enough so that the resulting container can withstand processing conditions. Additionally, the preform must have a diameter that is compatible with the machine that is used when the preform is molded to a container.
Preforms are used to produce a wide variety of products, such as containers. Accordingly, the preforms themselves must differ depending on their intended use. A one-size-fits-all preform is not practical; however, it is also inefficient and expensive to have different machines to handle different types of preforms. For this reason, many preforms are made having a thicker finish than desired, in order to accommodate existing preform handling machinery. The drawback of the increased thickness is that the preform weight is also increased, which increases production costs. Thus, there is a need in the art for a lightweight preform that is compatible with standard preform handling parts.